How to Create a '20s Costume for Women

Create 1920s women's costumes, like a flapper costume, by sewing strips of fringe or fabric onto a dress. Make 1920s women's costumes with tips from a fashion specialist in this free video on style advice.

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Video Transcript

Hi, my name is Rachel. I'm a freelance fashion journalist and the owner of Austin Style Watch.com street fashion site and I'm here today to talk to you a little bit about putting together a twenties costume for women. The twenties were a really awesome era for women. It was really liberating. Women finally got to be kind of sexual and free. So, today we're going to kind of talk about the women of the era which was the Flapper. And it's a really fun costume to put together, it's great for a party. It's fun to dance around in. So, this is kind of your model Flapper costume. And it's got the fringe all across it and that was for dancing and it kind of shakes around when you dance and accounts for the sort of "Flap" name. This dress already has the fringe attached to it but if you would like to make a Flapper dress, it's really simple. You can go to any fabric store or craft supply store and buy strips of this fringe and you can kind of see how the strips of the fringe are attached on here. Buy your own strips and you can either sew them on by hand or with a machine if you have one or you can even just hot glue them on, it's really simple. Just hot glue the strips on - instant Flapper dress. Now, let's talk about beyond the dress, the other kind of trademark looks of a Flapper. Pearls are one really important thing. And again with the kind of flapping and swinging around look, these are a little bit short but, the flapper pearls would hang long down the the body and often have a knot in the middle of them. So, you'd have a long strand of pearls with a little knot and a little bit hanging down there and it would just kind of swing around when you danced. Other trademark flapper qualities, in these Flapper dresses, it wasn't a lot of cleavage. The look of the era was actually long, lean, and kind of flat and youthful and kind of nubile and young. So, flat chested girls, this is a great costume for you. Beyond that, feathered head dress with a head band and kind of a feather stuck in the side is another big Flapper kind of look. Lastly makeup. The look of the era was really into the Cupids Bow which is the little piece right here on your mouth. So one look of the era was just putting a bit of lipstick on your thumb and kind of pressing it one on each side of the lip on either side of your Cupids Bow. Right there, right there and then on the bottom lip. So emphasizing the little fattest part of your lip down here and the two pieces opposite your Cupids Bow and kind of a very sexy pucker. So, all those things combined and you've got your nineteen twenties Flapper costume for any party.